What Are You Hiding, Brother?
by Just4FunFiction
Summary: When the Loud sisters go to the mall, they see Lincoln hanging out with... a biker? What could their little brother possibly be doing with a biker? And will they be prepared for the answer? Rated T for mentions of drugs and alcohol.


**(A/N- thanks for deciding to read this. Just a little heads up, this fic will get a bit… deeply emotional towards the end. I won't spoil it, but if you feel that this is something you won't be able to handle, there is no shame in turning away now.**

 **The songs mentioned are 'Electric Gypsy' by Andy Timmons and 'The Betrayal Act III' by Nickelback.**

 **With that out of the way, enjoy.)**

It's another typical sibling meeting in the Loud family house. The eleven siblings were all gathered in the bedroom of the two eldest, with Lori holding her shoe like a gavel behind her desk. She banged the shoe down, silencing all conversations. "Alright, everyone!" She announced. "You know why we're all here. We need to decide what we are going to spend our Saturday doing. Now, I would like to suggest that we spend it at the mall." All ten girls voiced their agreement to the idea. "Okay, in that case, all those in favour?" The ten girls immediately through their hands up. "All opposed?" Everyone turned to Lincoln, who just sat there doing nothing. "Lincoln."

"Yeah?" He asked.

"I said all opposed."

He looked at his sisters, who were still looking at him. "… and?"

She raised her eyebrow. "This is typically the point where you suggest something else, which none of us want to do, and you give up and agree to going to the mall with us."

"Oh, right. Sorry, I'm busy tomorrow."

Lori blinked, surprised by the revelation. "Oh. Well, in that case, I guess we're done here."

She banged her shoe on the desk again, and everyone but Lori and Leni got up and began to walk away. Lincoln saw Luna heading towards the stairs, so he walked alongside her. "Hey, Luna?"

The rocker looked at her brother. "What's up, bro?" She asked.

"Would it be alright if I borrowed an instrument from you tomorrow? I'm meeting up with some guys tomorrow, and they asked me to bring my own."

This intrigued the fifteen-year-old girl. "Sure thing, bro! Follow me." She led him out of the house and into the garage. "I keep spare instruments in here, in case my main instruments are busted and need repair." She opened the garage door, the sister and brother walking in. "What's your device, my musical mechanic?"

"I need a guitar."

"Acoustic or electric?"

"Electric." Luna nodded, before beginning to rummage through the cluttered garage for the right instrument. It wasn't long before she grasped the neck of an orange electric guitar. Blowing the dust off it, she saw it was in good condition despite the fact she didn't use it often, so she handed it to Lincoln, who slipped the strap over his neck so the guitar was on his back. "Thanks, Luna."

"No problem, bro. You want me to lend you a tuner?"

He shook his head. "That's okay, I've got an app on my phone."

"Fair enough. Want me to help you practice?"

"Actually, I've been practicing with some friends at school. I think I'm all good."

"Sounds like you're all set to go! Carry on, my wayward son."

He nodded, before walking away. After he was gone, Luna found a question form in her mind, which caused her to frown. 'Why would Lincoln not ask me to help him practice?'

* * *

The next day was Saturday, and the sun rose up nice and early as always. Inside the Loud House, the ten sisters were all getting ready to go to the mall like they had planned. Lori, fully dressed with car keys in hand, stood downstairs by the door. "Okay, everyone!" She called up the stairs. "We leave in ten minutes exactly!"

Upstairs, Luna stepped out of her room. She looked down the hall and saw Lincoln's door was slightly ajar. "Be down in a sec, sis!" She called down the stairs as she walked towards the former linen closet. Pushing on the door, she walked in. "Hey, Link, you sure you-" She stopped herself upon realising the room was empty. 'Huh. Guess he already left.' Taking a look around, she saw that his room was relatively neat- no drawers were open, no toys were on the floor, and everything was where it should be. Everything was as it normally was- everything, that is, except his leather jacket, which was normally hung with his orange shirts, but was currently missing. 'Did he take his leather jacket with him? He hasn't worn it since he tried talking to that new girl in his class.'

"Five minutes!" Lori called out again, prompting Luna to forget about it for the moment being. As she and her other sisters headed downstairs, waiting for Lola as she was always the last to be ready, Luna approached the eldest sister. "Hey, Lori? Did you know Lincoln was already gone?"

This was news to the eldest sister. "No, I thought he was still in his room," she admitted. "Is he not there?"

"No, bruh, it's empty. I think he took his leather jacket with him."

"Ooh, are you talking about Linky?" They heard Leni ask. "I saw him in his leather jacket about an hour ago. He forgot to shut the bathroom door while he was gelling his hair back. He looked, like, _so_ cute."

Luna and Lori both blinked, their eyes wider than before. "Did he say where he was going?" Leni thought for a moment, before shrugging. "Hmm…"

Lori stood there, thinking about what her brother could be up to, before she saw Lola walking down the stairs. Putting those thoughts to one side, she did a head count and saw that everyone was ready. "Okay, everyone, lets go!" She announced, leading the way out to Vanzilla. Once everyone had climbed in and attached their seatbelts, she started the engine and began to drive. Along the road, she returned to her thoughts from before. 'What would Lincoln be doing that would need him to be wearing his leather jacket?' She pondered. Looking to her right, she saw that Luna was just as deep in thought. "Hey, Luna?"

"Yeah?" She answered, looking away from the window.

"Did Lincoln say anything to you about what he was doing today?"

"Well, I know that he borrowed one of my electric guitars, but other than that, nothing." She frowned, looking down at her fingers, drumming them against her lap. "He said he'd been practicing with a friend of his."

Lori looked shocked by this. "Why wouldn't he just ask you to help him practice?!" Luna just shrugged. "Okay, something isn't right about this." As she stopped the van in front of a red light, she turned around. "Leni? Can you ring Lincoln and ask if he wants a lift back?"

"Okay!" Leni replied, pulling out her phone. She dialled Lincoln's number and waited for him to pick up. "Hey, Linky! Lori just wanted to know if you wanted picking up once we're done at the mall. … uh huh… uh huh… okay, bye!" She hung up her phone, returning it to her pocket. "He said he's getting a lift back."

Luna and Lori both looked at each other. "Who could be giving him a lift back?" Luna asked.

"I don't know," Lori replied, "but once we're at home, we'll be sure to question him on this."

Eventually, they arrived at the mall. Lori pulled into an empty space, the van slowly coming to a stop. "Alright," she announced as she turned off the engine. "You're all free to go, but someone has to look after Lily since Lincoln's not here."

"I'll watch her!" Luan offered. "As long as she doesn't make a mess, it'll be a 'gas'!" She laughed her typical laugh. "Get it?"

Everyone groaned. "Alright, thank you, Luan. As for her and everyone else, we meet at the food court in one hour exactly."

"GOT IT!" Everyone shouted, before climbing out of the van. While everyone else was quick to walk away, Luna and Lori were a bit slower. Leni was going to head as quickly as the others did before Lori pulled her back.

"Okay, Luna," Lori told her younger sister, "you head to the music shop and see if you can get a hold of Lincoln. Ask him if he can tell you where he is."

"You got it," she replied, before walking away.

Lori lead Leni into the nearby clothing store. "Okay, Leni, I need you to listen to me," she explained. "I need you to think back to this morning, when you saw Lincoln, and tell me _exactly_ what happened."

"Okay." Leni began to remember what happened. "Well, I needed to use the bathroom because my hair was a mess. I opened the door and saw Linky stood in front of the mirror, putting gel in his hair and combing it back like someone from that musical you love, I forget the name, though."

Lori clicked her fingers in her face, glaring at her. "Leni, focus!"

"Oh, right. Well, when he realised I was there, he looked at me then shut the door."

Lori waited for more, but that was where the explanation ended. "… and he didn't say anything? Anything at all?" Leni shook her head, causing her older sister to groan. "Great."

Leni noticed her sister's irritation. "What's wrong?"

"I just have this bad feeling that Lincoln's doing something he really shouldn't."

"I doubt Linky would do that. He's our brother."

Lori couldn't help but laugh at Leni's blissfully ignorant optimism. "Maybe I'm just overthinking things."

"I bet in an hour, you'll have, like, completely forgot about it."

* * *

An hour later, the ten Loud sisters were happily chatting while they ate in the food court. Like Leni had predicted, an hour of clothes shopping had caused Lori to forget about the activities of her brother. The two eldest sisters had bought a variety of different clothes, which made it all the more fortunate that it was where Leni worked, as her staff discount had cut the price down considerably.

Luna, having finished her conversation with Luan, turned to the eldest sister. "Hey, Lori, were you able to get a hold of Lincoln?" She asked.

Lori blinked, before slapping her forehead. "I knew I forgot something," she groaned, before looking back at Luna. "Sorry, no. What about you?"

"Nah. I asked what he was doing, and he said he was hanging with his mates, then cut me off."

"Who cares?" Lola spoke up. "It's probably something dumb."

"I just have a bad feeling," Lori explained.

"Well, I'm sure he can 'mate' it up to us!" Luan joked, causing the others to groan. "Seriously, though, you're overreacting. He's probably just-"

"Over there!" Lana shouted. All ten sisters looked in the direction the six-year-old mechanic pointed and saw their sole brother, wearing a leather jacket over a light yellow t-shirt, blue ripped jeans, black boots, a black studded belt and black shades over his eyes, while his hair was slicked back. He was paying for food at the mall's Burpin' Burger, walking away with a small bag full of food. "I thought he said he was busy?"

"What's he doing here?" Lucy asked.

"I don't know," Lori replied, standing up, "but we're going to find out. Come on."

They all nodded, grabbing their bags and following Lori in the direction Lincoln left with Luan pushing Lily's pushchair. They followed him down the escalator, making sure not to let him see them as they walked past the different shops. Once he was outside, they temporarily lost sight of him due to the customers entering the mall. They quickly made their way outside, but didn't see him.

"Anyone see him?" Lynn shouted out, her and her sisters looking left and right. Before anyone could respond, they heard the revving of an engine. Looking left, they saw a motorbike begin to drive out of the parking lot, but what surprised them was that Lincoln was on the back of it, holding onto the older and larger biker who was driving it. "That's him!"

"Everyone! In the van!" Lori ordered. They all rushed to Vanzilla, rapidly throwing their bags in the boot before getting in. Once everyone was belted in, Lori turned on the engine ad began to drive in the direction Lincoln and the biker drove, which was fairly easy due to the traffic. "What is Lincoln doing?! Why is he with a biker?!"

"Little bro doesn't know what he's doing, he can't!" Luna spoke up. "There's no way he'd just get on that bike and ride, something's mad wrong about this!"

"Think I could take a look at the bike if we asked?" Lana asked, receiving glares in response. "What? I've never worked on a motorbike."

"Not the time, Lana!" Lola argued, prompting the twins to begin fighting, much to the chagrin of the driver.

"THAT'S IT! YOU TWO, STOP FIGHTING NOW!" The twins immediately went silent after Lori's threat, the seventeen-year-old's knuckles turning white with how tightly she was gripping the steering wheel. "We need to focus on finding out where Lincoln is going right now, and your fighting is not helping!"

"Lori, calm down," Leni advised.

Lori took a deep breath, her face relaxing. "You're right, you're right. I shouldn't have snapped at you guys, I'm sorry. It's just that I'm worried about what Lincoln is doing."

"We all are, Lori," Luan reminded.

"I know you are." After about ten minutes of driving, they arrived at what appeared to be a biker bar, with a currently unlit LED over the door that read 'Joe's', and eight motorcycles parked out front. Lori saw the bike parked nearest to the door and recognised it as the one Lincoln was one, so she pulled up by the bar. "I think he's in here." She undid her seatbelt, turning to face the others. "Luan, you're in charge while me, Leni and Luna go inside. The rest of you, stay here." Some of them began to argue, but her harsh glare put an end to this. "I mean it! Stay here." She opened her door and got out, Leni and Luna following suit before they all shut the doors. "Stay close to me."

They both nodded, before following Lori inside. The bar was quite dimly lit, with a couple of red neon lights above the seats on either side. There were bikers throughout the place- all dressed in leather jackets with a snake on the back, jeans, boots and shades- who instantly turned in their direction upon the entry of the three eldest Loud girls. One of the bikers, a buff looking man in his forties with slightly greying hair, a thick beard, and a scar on the tip of his nose, approached them. Lori recognised him as the guy who rode with Lincoln holding onto him.

"Sorry, girls," he told them in his thick, grizzly voice, "this club is for members only, and they must be eighteen or over."

Lori wasn't scared as she approached him. "Look, sir," she told him bluntly, "we're looking for our brother, and we know he's here. Tell us where he is, so we can take him home."

Another biker, this one younger but equally as tough and with a brown beard, laughed at Lori as he walked up to her. "Look, girly, I don't know who you think you are, but you don't get to make orders he-"

She cut him off by jabbing her finger under his chin, glaring with full blow anger, enough to make the biker feel threatened. "Listen, bub! If you don't want to be turned into a human pretzel, then SIT DOWN!"

She pulled back her hand, and he whimpered before nodding, backing away to his friend who consoled him. Luna stepped up to the previous biker. "Look, bro," she said, her voice calmer than Lori's had been, "we just want to find our little bro. We saw him riding with you earlier, and-"

"Wait, Lincoln? He's your brother?" Luna, confused, nodded, causing the big man to chuckle. "Well, why didn't you say so? Come on, grab a drink!" He led the girls to the bar, walking behind it. Opening the mini fridge, he pulled out three cans of lemonade and placed them on the bar, pushing them towards the girls. "It's on the house."

Leni was about to grab hers before Lori stopped her. She grabbed one and inspected it- it was the same brand their family usually bought and the seal was unopened, so it hadn't been tampered with. She gave a quick glare to the greying biker before opening her lemonade, taking a quick peek inside followed by one sip. She savoured the taste for a second, then turned to her sisters. "Okay, they're clean."

Leni smiled at the biker. "Thanks, mister biker," she told him as she and Luna also began to drink.

"Call me Major," he replied.

"So, how come you guys know our brother?" Luna asked. "I mean, he's only eleven, and you said members had to be eighteen and over."

"Ah, well, Lincoln's an honorary member. He's been coming here for the past month to learn guitar."

Luna looked hurt. "So, he's been learning from you guys? Why wouldn't he just ask me?"

"I take it you're a musician, then." She nodded. "I'm sorry that we taught him behind your back. He told me not to tell anyone why he's been coming here, but I assure you, that kid has a heart of gold."

"If he's so pure of heart, why wouldn't he tell his family he's been hanging out with a biker gang?" Lori accused, causing Major to frown.

"Listen, I think you have the wrong impression of us. We're not a gang, we're just enthusiasts. We're not criminals, we don't go driving by people's houses at the crack of dawn, yelling and hollering, and we don't carry guns of any kind. We're all hard working, law abiding citizens who hang out here on our days off, drinking a few beers from time to time, but we never let anyone drive back under the influence, and we don't allow drugs in here."

"That still doesn't explain why he's been here, or where he is right now."

Before Major could respond, another biker- a slim man in his thirties- walked up and whispered something in his ear, causing him to nod before turning back to the girls. "Well, you're about to find out where he is."

Over by a makeshift stage, a spotlight shone on a lone barstool. Sat on it was none other than Lincoln Loud, holding his guitar in front of him, the cable connected to an amp. He waited until everyone was silent before his fingers began plucking the strings to a tune. Most of the bikers began to cheer as Lincoln played, and it wasn't long before Luna smiled too.

"Dude," she said to Major, "is he playing Electric Gypsy?" He nodded and her smile grew. "Whichever one of you guys taught him, he is killing it!"

As they watched Lincoln play, both Leni and Luna were smiling, the latter throwing up the goats, whilst Lori frowned with her arms crossed. Lincoln didn't notice as he was too into his playing to see her, his fingers practically dancing across the strings as he played to perfection. He felt the music flow through him as he sat there, the tune washing out the cheers from the bikers. He played the whole song, not missing a beat or messing up a note, and as he played the final chord, he slowly raised his hand up in the air, hearing the applause and cheers he received as the music faded out.

"Go, Lincoln!" Luna yelled. "You rock, bro!"

She placed her fingers to her lips and whistled, catching his attention. Lifting his shades, his eyes went wide when he saw his sisters, even more so upon seeing Lori's harsh stare. He turned to the others, giving a quick bow, before unplugging the guitar and getting up. Slipping the guitar onto his back, he walked over to his sisters. "What are you guys doing here?" He asked.

"What are _we_ doing here? What are YOU doing here?!" Lori snapped at the boy. "What do you think you are doing hanging around men more than twice your age who are drinking beer?!"

He held his palms up to her. "Lori, it's not what you think-"

"We're leaving. NOW."

"Now, hold on a minute, girls," Major spoke, approaching them calmly. "Lincoln hasn't done anything wrong, so let's not get riled up."

She snapped her head in his direction. "I don't care who you think you are, we are leaving, and he is coming with us!"

Before Major could speak again, Lincoln interrupted. "It's fine, Major. I should have known they would find out sooner or later, and I don't want there to be any trouble, so I'll go."

He smiled at the kid, patting him on the back. "Good luck, kid. We'll see you soon, okay?"

"Don't count on it," Lori spat, before harshly glaring at her brother. "Let's go." Lincoln gave a wave to the bikers, some of them saying goodbye as he walked out. Once he was in the van, everyone looked at him but no one said anything. Lori almost slammed the door. "Now-"

"I have nothing to say to you," he said before she could explain.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "It's not me you'll be answering to."

* * *

At home, everyone was gathered outside of their parents' bedroom, listening in on Lincoln being scolded by their parents. Lori had ratted him out as soon as they stepped through the front door, and he was going to be yelled at in front of everyone, but Lincoln insisted that he would only speak to his parents in private.

"What do you think you were doing?!" Lynn Sr shouted. "Do you have any idea how reckless that was?!"

"You could have been hurt!" Rita added, equally angry. "They could have given you drugs or made you drink beer!"

"But they didn't!" Lincoln assured. "They don't do drugs, and the only thing I drank whenever I went there was lemonade, the same kind as what we have here!"

"That's beside the point, young man! You are much too young to be involved with bikers!"

"It's not like they're criminals or like gangs you see on TV and in movies. They're just ordinary people."

"Who are more than twice your age!"

"Why was it so important that you had to go THERE to learn guitar?" Lynn asked. "Luna would have been more than happy to teach you, or we could have asked the music teacher at your school to! Why did you have to go there?"

"I… I can't tell you."

"Lincoln Loud, you tell me what you've been doing right now!"

"I have! All I've done there is learn guitar, I swear!"

"But why there?"

"I can't tell you. I'm not up to something bad, I promise, but I can't tell you."

Rita sighed heavily. "Lincoln, if you can't tell us, then we have no choice. You're grounded for a month, with no comics, tv or video games, and you're not allowed to leave the house except for school. And absolutely no going back to that biker club."

"But-"

"No buts! Go to your room. Now."

Lincoln growled, before opening the door, prompting the girls to act natural. He could tell they had been listening, but paid them no attention. He just marched upstairs and into his room, slamming the door.

"So, what do we do now?" Luna asked Lori.

"We go and find out what the twerp's been up to," she sternly answered, before leading Luna and Leni upstairs.

"I doubt that he'll listen to us, sis."

"Well, one way or another, we're finding out." Without knocking, she barged into his room and glared at the boy, who didn't even look at her while he tuned the guitar he held. "Talk. Now."

"Ever heard of knocking?" He bluntly responded, causing her anger to rise.

"Listen here, you-"

"Lori, let me handle this!" Luna insisted, pushing her way forward. She sat on the bed, but it wasn't enough to get him to look at her. "You know, you played pretty good up there, bro! I thought it was awesome!" Nothing came from the boy, which caused her to frown. "If you wanted to learn how to play guitar, you could have asked me. I've been hoping you would for the past five years, ever since I got my first guitar. Why did you have to go to them to learn?" This time, he stopped tuning, but didn't move or speak. He just froze. "Lincoln, you know we're just looking out for you, right? We just want to make sure you're safe and not drifting in with the wrong-"

"You're wrong." He looked up after he said this, his eyes burning with something that his sisters couldn't fully identify- it wasn't anger or hatred, it was a mix of sorrow, disappointment and determination. "Just because they ride on motorcycles, meet at a bar and wear leather jackets does not make them like every other stereotypical biker gang."

"Dude, I get what you're saying, but-"

"Alright, that's enough," Lori snapped. "No more beating around the bush. What the hell do you think you were doing there?" He rolled his eyes at her. "Don't you roll your eyes at- don't go back to fiddling with your dumb guitar, I'm talking to you!"

"Linky, please," Leni begged. "Can't you just, like, tell us what's going on?"

"No. I told you I can't, but that just isn't good enough for you, so I'm going to have to ask you all to leave."

Lori looked incredulous at the demand. "Excuse me?! Who do you think you-"

"It wasn't a request, Lori." He practically spat her name. "And close the door on your way out."

Lori stared at him, shocked, before growling and stomping out with Leni close behind. Luna was hesitant in getting off his bed. "You know where to find me, right?" He didn't respond, so she sighed before walking out, closing the door. As soon as the door clicked shut, she could hear him begin to play his guitar, and once she recognised the song, her heart broke. 'The Betrayal Act III… way harsh, bro,' she thought, walking away with teary eyes.

* * *

The next morning, everyone was gathered around the table for breakfast, dressed and ready for the day. All, that is, except for Lincoln. "Where is he? I'm starving," Lynn grumbled.

"He's probably still mad about yesterday," Lola offered.

"Should one of us go talk to him?" Luan asked.

"I'll go," Luna volunteered, getting up from the table. "I don't know if he'll talk to me, but I'll try." She walked out of the dining room and up the stairs, turning towards his room which was deathly silent. She knocked on the door, which surprisingly caused it to open a little. "Bro?" She called as she stepped in. "Breakfast is almost-"

She gasped upon seeing that not only was the room empty, but the emergency slide that Lisa installed was still inflated. Looking around the room, she saw that the guitar she leant him was no longer there, and neither was his leather jacket.

'He's gone back to the biker club!' She realised, before leaving his room, shutting the door and rushing back to the dining room.

"Alright, everyone!" They all heard their father call as he came in. "The breakfast sandwiches are ready!"

"Me, Leni and Lori need ours to go, Pop Star!" Luna called out, much to the confusion of the two eldest sisters.

"We do?" Lori asked.

"Sure, honey! I'll go wrap them up!" Lynn told his kids, taking the food back to the kitchen. Lori glared at the rocker, who said nothing while she waited for her father to return. He eventually did, placing the plate on the table and handing Luna three of the breakfast sandwiches wrapped in paper to his oldest daughters. "Okay, there you go! Where are you heading?"

"Uh, study group! Some of Lori's friends are helping to tutor me."

"Alright, well, remember to be back by six, okay?"

"You got it, Pop Star!" She turned to her only older sisters and beckoned then to follow, which they reluctantly did. "Lori, you've got the keys, right?"

"What? No, mom has them! Luna, what's-"

"Alright, I'll give Chunk a bell." Luna quickly found Chunk's number on her phone and began to ring it. "Yo, Chunk, you busy? Me and my sibs need a ride. Uh huh… Perfect! Alright, see you in a few!"

Lori glared at Luna as she hung up. "Okay, Luna, you have literally ten seconds to-"

"Not right now, sis!" Luna walked out the front door, with Leni and Lori following behind. "Alright, look. I wasn't gonna say it in there, but Lincoln's blown this joint!"

Lori's eyes went wide. "You mean he snuck out?!"

"Yep, and since the guitar and the jacket's gone, I think we know where he's gone too."

"You mean, that biker place?" Leni asked. "But, why would Linky go back there? I thought he was grounded."

"He was," Lori seethed. "That little twerp is gonna be a human pretzel by the time I'm done with him!"

"Shouldn't we let mom and dad know where he is?"

Luna shook her head. "If we tell them, we won't be able to find out what he's really up to. Something about yesterday just felt off, you know? Like something was missing."

"So, let's find out what that is."

It wasn't long before they saw Chunk's van pull up, the British roadie sticking his head out as he pulled the car to a stop. "Here I am, love!" He greeted.

"Thanks for the lift, Chunksky!" Luna greeted back as she climbed into the passenger side seat, with Lori and Leni getting in the back.

"So, where do you girls need taking to?"

"You know Joe's?"

"Joe's the biker place? Luna, no offence, but I doubt you three should be hanging out there."

"We're not," Lori explained, "but our little brother is, and we need to find out what."

"Ah, well that's a different kettle of fish." He turned on the engine once more and looked back. "You two better find something to hold on to, because it's time to hit the road!"

After a shorter drive than that from the mall, they saw the biker club come into view. Before Chunk could pull up, however, they got stopped at a red light just in front of it. While waiting for the lights to change, Leni peaked forward. "Oh my God, look! It's Linky!"

Lori stuck her head forward as she and the others watched Lincoln exit the club through the back door with Major and two other bikers. They walked over to three of the motorbikes and got on, with Lincoln holding onto Major as he started to drive away.

"You want me to follow them, Luna?" Chunk asked, the lights changing to amber, then to green.

"Hit it!"

Chunk began to accelerate, following the two motorcycles while maintaining a small distance between them. They drove from one side of town to the other, until finally arriving at the Royal Woods General Hospital. The bikers pulled up out front, while Chunk parked the van across the street by a restaurant.

"He's getting off and heading inside," Luna called out as her brother did just that."

"In that case, we're going in after them," Lori commanded. "Leni, stay here with Chunk. If you see any more bikers come up, text me."

Leni nodded, whilst Luna and Lori got out of the van. "Be careful, loves!" Chunk called out as the girls crossed the empty street. They ran inside the building and approached the front desk, where a nurse in her thirties was currently stationed.

"Did you see our brother come in here?" Lori asked. "White hair, wearing a leather jacket?"

"I think I saw him go down the hall on the left," she answered. "Are you-"

They didn't turn back, ignoring the nurse calling them back as they went down the hall. Following the maze-like halls of the hospital, they eventually saw Lincoln and Major enter one of the rooms. Lori began walking towards it before Luna pulled her back.

"Dude, if we just barge in, this whole operation will be a bust!" She warned.

"Well, then, what do we do?" Lori huffed.

Luna looked around and realised they were in a waiting area. "Follow my lead." Luna walked over to one of the racks of leaflets, grabbed one and sat down in a chair, holding the leaflet up to her face. Lori followed suit and sat in the seat next to Luna, using another leaflet to hide her face. They were sat there for just under a minute before they heard a door open, followed by footsteps. After the footsteps passed by them, Luna dropped her leaflet and saw Lincoln and Major walk away with a boy Lincoln's age, wearing a black t-shirt, grey jeans, red sneakers and a grey beanie, and a woman in a blue dress and shoes. Luna looked back at Lori and nodded. "Let's go."

They followed their brother out of the hospital, and watched as they got onto the bikes with the other bikers before, with the boy in the beanie holding onto Major, before they all drove off in the direction of the club. Lori and Luna checked that the roads were clear, then ran across and got back in Chunk's van.

"Follow those bikers!" Lori ordered, shutting the back door.

"You got it!" Chunk replied, before driving after the bikers. He drove all the way to the club, never letting the bikers see that they were following them or letting them get too far ahead. Once they saw the bikers arrive at their destination, Chunk parked the van across the street. "You girls go on ahead, I'll give you a bell if I see anything."

"Cheers, Chunk," Luna told her roadie before turning to her sisters. "Let's go."

Lori and Leni nodded, climbing out of the van. They made their way across the street and followed Lincoln to the back door. Lori looked at her sisters and nodded to them, before pushing her way in. She walked through the hall to the main club area, and was surprised by what she saw.

"SURPRISE!"

Looking around, Lori saw all of the bikers from yesterday and a couple of others, as well as a few boys the same age as Lincoln and the boy in the beanie. The room was a bit more brightly lit than usual, with a banner on the wall that read 'Happy Birthday'. There was music playing and everyone was smiling.

The boy looked around in elated shock, then looked back at Lincoln, who was smiling more than anyone else in the room. "Lincoln, what's going on?" He asked.

"Jason, do you remember the first time we met?" Lincoln asked the boy, who nodded. "I remember a lot about talking to you, but the one thing that stuck out the most to me was how much you wanted to be part of a biker club. You told me that it was your dream, and that you would give anything to make that dream come true. Now, I can't make you a biker," he looked over at Major, "but I think these guys can do the next best thing."

Major whistled and one of the other bikers stepped forward, a white parcel with red ribbon in hand. "Son," he told Jason, "this is for you." Jason accepted the present. "Go on, open it." The boy in the beanie didn't need telling twice, removing the ribbon from the box then lifting off the lid and staring in awe of what was inside. Placing the box on a nearby table, he lifted out a leather jacket, which had the same insignia on the back as the rest of the bikers had. "You see, Lincoln told us about you and your dream, and after what you've been through, we knew that you had the heart of a biker in you. Which is why we want you to be a member of our club. Welcome to the Royal Woods Rattlesnakes."

Jason's eyes seemed to glisten as he heard this. "You mean it?!"

Major chuckled softly. "Of course! Now, go on, try it on!"

Jason quickly slipped his arms through the sleeves, then grabbed the sunglasses from the box and put them on. "Oh my God, this is so cool!"

Lincoln chuckled. "You look awesome, Jason," he commented.

Jason walked up to the white-haired boy and gave him a hug. "Thank you so much, Lincoln. You've made this the most epic birthday I could ever hope for."

Lincoln's smile grew as he returned the hug. "You're welcome, Jason." Looking over the boy's shoulder, Lincoln saw his sisters, all looking at him, with a mix of different expressions. While Leni looked like she thought the hug was cute and Luna was smiling proudly, Lori's face was rather expressionless. He released the hug. "Listen, I'll catch up with you in a bit. I need to talk to my sisters for a moment."

"Okay, sure! I'll be with my friends from school."

Lincoln nodded, then walked over to the three older girls. "Look. I know you're mad at me for sneaking out, but… this was just-"

"We'll talk about it at home, Lincoln," Lori interrupted, causing him to drop his head sadly. "For now, you should enjoy the party." Lincoln's head shot right back up and he saw that Lori was in fact smiling at him. He smiled back, giving her a quick hug before walking back over to the birthday boy, while the three sisters watched from the side. "I guess we had nothing to worry about."

"But, if this is what Linky was doing all that time," Leni asked, "why couldn't he just tell us?"

"That's partly our fault," Major said as he approached the girls. "We didn't want you and your family to worry about Lincoln quite so much. We all know that bikers don't have that good of a rep. Plus, could you honestly tell me that you would have been happy knowing Lincoln was hanging at a biker bar?"

Lori sighed. "You're right. For what it's worth, I'm sorry we misjudged the situation."

Major smiled back. "Forget about it. I can tell you all care about your brother, and that kid's got a good heart. I can understand why you'd want to protect him."

"Too right, bro," Luna responded. "Too right."

* * *

It was later that day. After enjoying the party for a few hours, as well as playing a few songs, Lincoln returned home with his sisters. Lincoln knew that his parents would be waiting for him, which made him apprehensive. Luna looked over at her brother. "Lincoln?" She asked. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just… nervous about how angry mom and dad are going to be."

Leni patted her brother on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Linky," she told him, "we'll be, like, right there with you."

He smiled back at his sisters. "Thanks, guys." He took a deep breath before opening the door and climbing out of Chunk's van. "No point in holding it off."

"Hey, Lincoln," Chunk called to him. "You played good, mate. You ever think about doing a gig, give me a bell and I'll help you out."

Lincoln nodded. "Thanks, Chunk. I'll remember that."

"No worries, mate. I'll see you all later."

His sisters and him waved bye to Chunk as he drove off, then walked up to the front door. Opening it and walking through, Lincoln saw the rest of the sisters on the couch, watching Dream Boat. As soon as they saw him, they immediately bombarded him with questions about why he snuck out, where he was, and even Lana asking if she could have his bike if mom and dad grounded him too harshly. They continued like this until Rita and Lynn Sr. entered the living room.

"GIRLS! UPSTAIRS, NOW!" Lynn Sr. instructed. He watched as the seven youngest sisters immediately went upstairs, leaving Lincoln with his head hung low, and his three oldest sisters behind him. "Lori, Leni, Luna, that includes you too!"

"Sorry, Pop Star," Luna told her father, "but no can do. Thing is, you need to hear us out too."

While he was shocked, he could tell she was being serious, so he sighed. "Alright, fine. The four of you, go sit on the couch."

The kids did as they were told, whilst their parents stood in front of the white-haired boy with harsh glares. "Lincoln," Rita spoke forcefully, "look at me." He lifted his head up. "Were you, or were you not, at the biker club again?"

He sighed. "Yes, But-"

"No buts, young man! How DARE you disobey us after we expressly forbade it! Do you have any idea how worried we were?!"

"I'm sorry, but I-"

"Don't interrupt your mother!" Lynn scolded. "Do you have any idea what could have happened to you?! You could have been beaten up, or forced to take alcohol or drugs, or-"

"But he wasn't!" Leni spoke up, surprising her parents. "Linky had a great time, and didn't do any of that stuff!"

"And how would you know that?" Rita inquired.

"Because we followed him," Lori explained. "After Luna found out he wasn't in his room, we got a ride from her friend Chunk and he took us to the biker club, but we saw Lincoln and one of the bikers driving off."

"We tailed them to a hospital," Luna continued, "and they left with some kid and his mom. We followed them back to the biker club, but once we got inside, we saw they were throwing a birthday party for the kid."

Rita and Lynn were even more astonished by this. Looking at their only son, they saw that his face was stoic. "Lincoln? Is this true?" He nodded. "Lincoln, you need to explain all of this to us."

As everyone turned their attention to him, Lincoln breathed in and exhaled before beginning to speak. "Remember how a month and a half ago, I visited Clyde in the hospital when he injured his ankle? Well, on the way out, I bumped into this boy my age."

" _I'll see you soon, buddy," Lincoln told Clyde as he left the room. He began walking down the corridor, but when he turned to go down another hallway, he bumped into someone, causing them both to fall to the floor. Rubbing the back of his head, Lincoln sat up and saw that the person he bumped into was a boy his age, wearing a beanie and a light blue hospital gown. "Sorry about that."_

 _Lincoln got up and held out a hand, which the boy accepted and used to get up. "No biggie," he replied. "I wasn't really watching where I was going, I was too busy reading my comic."_

 _Lincoln looked behind the boy and saw a copy of the latest issue of Ace Savvy. "You're an Ace Savvy fan?!"_

" _Yeah, I love Ace! Have since I was about five!"_

" _Me too!"_

" _Really?! Hey, you wanna come read some with me?"_

" _Sounds great, I'd love to! I'm Lincoln Loud, by the way."_

" _Jason Harley."_

"So, after that, I started visiting him. He's from Hazeltucky, but the treatment he needed See, Jason told me he has a cancer in his stomach. He had surgery to try and remove it, but they weren't able to fully do so." Everyone noticeably frowned at this, none more so than Lincoln, who was beginning to form tears. "When I spoke to his mom a few weeks ago, she told me he didn't have long left, and that his chemotherapy was just… slowing things down a bit." He sniffled to stop the tears from breaking free. "When she told me that… t-that his birthday was coming up, and that he might l-l-live long enough to make it, I… I wanted to help him achieve his dream. Every time I visited him, he always had a look in his eye when he spoke about wanting to be a biker."

"But, Lincoln," Lori asked, "how did you even find out about that club? Let alone, get them to agree to it?"

"After I left that day, I started looking around town for anyone who knew anything. When I saw the bar with the bikes outside, I decided to go inside and see if they could help me. They were kind enough to listen to me and choose to help me, and they agreed to teach me to play the guitar for the party." He turned to Luna, whose heart broke when she saw his sad face. "That's why I was learning from them and not you. I knew if I asked you that you'd want to know why I wanted to learn."

She nodded. "I get it, bro," she told him, "I do. I can't be mad at you, especially with how well you played."

"If that's all it was, sport," Lynn asked, "then why couldn't you just tell us?"

"Major asked me not to, because they were worried you would overreact. Besides, I wanted to do it by myself, because he was my friend, and…" The tears began welling up again, and this time he wasn't able to hold them back. "I wanted him to… to have one last good memory before he… b-before he… h-h-he-"

Luna and Leni could no longer stand to see their brother crying, so they immediately hugged him, allowing him to sob into their clothes as they held him tight, their own eyes tearing up as well. Lori got up, walked behind the couch and gently rubbed his back, feeling his body shake as he sobbed. His parents looked at each other, their eyes sharing the same sadness, before kneeling down in front of their son.

"Lincoln?" Rita spoke, prompting the girls to loosen their grip so the white-haired boy could look up with reddened, teary eyes. "I'm sorry that your friend is going through that, and I'm sorry that your father and I were so harsh towards you."

"We were just worried you were getting involved in something you shouldn't be," Lynn Sr added, putting a hand on his son's shoulder. "We didn't want you to get hurt or in trouble for something you shouldn't have done in the first place."

"I know," he replied.

"Now, we should punish you more for leaving when you were grounded, but now that we know the truth about what happened, we're going to change your punishment. Instead of a month, you're only going to be grounded for another five days, okay?" Lincoln nodded, before leaning forward and hugging his parents, who rubbed his back to soothe him. "It's okay, Lincoln. It's okay."

* * *

That night, while he was sat on his bed, Lincoln heard a knock on his door. "Come in," he called, and watched as Lori, Leni and Luna entered his room. "Hey, girls. What's up?"

"We wanted to see how you were doing, little bro," Luna told him. "How you feeling?"

"Okay, I guess. It just sucks a little that I might not… see him again, you know?"

"We know, dude."

"Just know that if you ever need anything, like, at all, you can come find us," Leni assured, walking over and giving him a kiss on the forehead.

"Thanks." He yawned a little. "I think I'm gonna go to sleep."

"You want us to leave?" Lori asked, to which he nodded. "Alright, Lincoln." She walked over and laid him down, tucking him in. "Goodnight, Lincoln."

"Goodnight, Lori." He looked over at his other sisters. "Goodnight, you two."

"Night, Linky!"

"Night, bro."

Luna and Leni left the room and began to walk away, but before Lori could, she felt Lincoln grab her hand. Looking back, she saw his face looked downcast. "What's wrong?"

"Why does stuff like this happen?" This caught her off guard. "Why do people have to go through that?"

"I… I really don't know what to tell you, Lincoln," she answered honestly. "Sometimes, people just have to deal with that stuff. Some get lucky and never do, some survive through it, and some just… don't."

"Does that mean… one of you guys might, or I might?"

Her heart tore apart at that question. She wanted to tell him "no", but she knew it wouldn't be fair to lie to him, so she sighed and sat down on his bed. "I honestly don't know, Lincoln. I hope with all my heart that no one I love ever has to put up with that, especially not you or our family… but we never know for certain unless it happens." She could tell the answer didn't make him feel better, so she patted his hand. "But no matter what happens, we will always be there for each other. There may be a time when one of us isn't here in flesh and blood, but as long as the love we have for each other is there, we will always be in each other's hearts, and that is something I can promise you."

He smiled, giving a slight nod. "Thanks, Lori."

"No problem, Lincoln." She handed him Bun Bun, which he held close as he shut his eyes, then got off the bed and walked over to the door. She looked back at her brother sleeping soundly, and whispered, "goodnight, Lincoln," before closing the door and returning to bed.

 **THE END**


End file.
